The Princess of Time
by WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: The cycle ended, and Link lived his days to be old enough to marry Zelda. As it turns out, things began to deviate from the way things should go... as Ganondorf had a daughter. Equipped with the Lyre of Chaos, she devastates Hyrule. Luckily, Princess Luka is taken from the kingdom as a baby... and it soon falls to her to venture forth and save her homeland. *Please review/comment.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 01: The Princess of Time

The legend… the kingdom… the hero… the dark king… and the Tri-Force… for many generations this cycle has repeated as was wished by the dark king. The Hero of Time, Link, was given back his childhood after completing his mission to stop Ganondorf. He stopped Majhora's Moon from destroying the land. Years went by, and at last he returned to Hyrule as a man. He was welcome by many people who'd heard of his heroic exploits, but none more so than Princess Zelda.

He entered the audience hall and kneeled to Zelda as she sat on the throne. A lot had changed in the time since he departed. She could see the battle hardened appearance he wore. Accompanying his tunic was a set of chainmail worn beneath it, compared to when he saved her and only wore the tunic and silver trousers. She asked him to stand, and she walked to him. She touched his face, felt his chest, and kissed him prompting her entire council to squeak in shock dropping their staffs.

"I will not have another, for you see, I have already pledged my heart to someone." Zelda announced as she turned to them.

So a grand celebration was thrown as Link and Zelda were engaged. The two quite enjoyed the festivities and danced together in the square with the citizens. There wasn't a soul whose heart wasn't stirred by the sound of Link's ocarina. All but one, that is…

In the shadows, a small figure wearing a cloak stood. Piercing amber eyes looked from the dark of the hood, glaring at Link and Zelda as they danced and made merry with the citizens. The figure walked from the dark making a B Line for the two. Drawing a dagger the figure lunged at Link, who just barely dodged after realizing what was going on.

The figure lunged again and he easily disarmed the figure making their hood fall back revealing they were a young Gerudo with upper back length orange hair put in a ponytail. Beneath the cloak she wore a rather fancy outfit for a normal Gerudo. She pulled another knife and Zelda grabbed her wrist and restrained her.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Zelda demanded, and she tried to wrench her arm free but lacked the strength to do so.

"You all revere a murderer! You'll pay! You'll all pay!" the young Gerudo cursed, and finally got free escaping into the alleyways of the city.

Zelda had the guards search the city for her, but they couldn't find her. Link decided to visit the Gerudo tribe to ask about the young Gerudo who attempted to assassinate him. He met with Nabooru and learned that she was Ganondorf's daughter, Ganina, possibly the one thing he ever cared about more than the Tri-Force. She shared his views of the world, and even desired to rule it after her father was too old and continue his dark tyrannical ways.

Nabooru had attempted numerous times to change her, for fear of the past repeating yet again. She absolutely loathed Link as the murderer of her father. Desperately she sought revenge against him, and didn't care what underhanded means she would have to go to in order to accomplish it. Link took her warning about Ganina seriously, and returned to Hyrule Castle to tell Zelda. She felt a dark omen, but nevertheless the arrangements for their wedding continued as planned.

The wedding arrived, and it went without a hitch. It was almost unnerving how nothing had happened at all. The coronation, and even months after that had nothing happen at Ganina's hands. They couldn't dismiss her as a threat, but at the same time it couldn't interfere with day to day duties as king and queen.

A good five years passed, and joy was spread through the kingdom. Link rode Epona's back like the wind to the castle from his usual patrol around town. He didn't even dismount upon reaching the castle heading for the fourth floor, much to the dismay of the maids at the mud Epona was tracking with her hooves. There he finally dismounted and entered a bed chamber where Zelda lay in bed looking tired as she sweat. He could hear the crying of an infant, and saw a maid bring a crying baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket to Zelda. The infant calmed down as she stroked her head gently smiling at her.

Link sighed relieved and sat by her smiling at the newborn princess. The maid kneeled to them, as did the other servants in the room.

"Her name… will be Luka." Zelda announced softly trying not to disturb the now sleeping newborn.

A grand celebration was held honoring the birth of Princess Luka. The joy of the kingdom would only continue for another two months. Ganina returned and attacked Hyrule Castletown with a horde of Stalfos. She now wore battle armor similar to Ganondorf's and wielded a dark, sinister-looking sword.

"You will die, murderer…" Ganina cursed at Link, and the two began to duel.

To Link surprise she showed significant sword prowess, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He managed to knock Ganina sliding to a wall. She appeared worn out, and as he approached her a grin came to her face as she pulled out a peculiar black and red lyre. She began to play a song causing the ground beneath their feet to begin shaking violently. Link looked at her and saw her grin as she continued to play and stood up to dance. He tried to reach her but the ground started falling apart from the shaking. Eventually black roots began to rise from the cracks and start lashing at Link.

Link made his way to her despite his injuries and swung at her, but his swings were too predictable due to the shaking. In the middle of her song she kicked her sword to her hand and ran Link through. Her blade exited through his back, and she began to laugh as the roots ran rampant through the Castletown and soon through the landscape. Sinister creatures began to crawl out of the cracks and aid the Stalfos army. Zelda wept as Link fell to his knees, and then Ganina took his head.

She called to the young Sheikai, Auron, and had him take Luka from the kingdom. If anyone had to escape Hyrule alive, it had to be Luka. Auron took Epona and rode from the town as fast as he could make her go. He looked back, and saw the destruction that continued on. It steeled his resolve to get Luka out of the kingdom. Through the night he rode until they at last came to the Eldin kingdom south of Hyrule. They didn't stop until they reached Gazora Bay, the furthest they could possibly get from the border. There, Auron would raise Luka peacefully far away from the chaos that had claimed Hyrule, the center of the four kingdoms and their homeland.

Auron taught Luka to walk, how to talk, and the basic needs of any living person. Luka proved to be quite the athlete, even from the tiny age of three years old. For rupees Auron worked at Gazora Beach as a life guard, and Luka couldn't help accidentally drawing Auron from his post from time to time because she got curious about a creature. The biggest mini heart attack she's given him was when she tried to wake up a Gazora on the shore of the beach.

For those who don't know what a Gazora is, it is a close cousin of the Zora. They live in the deep ocean and are carnivorous toward about anything that tastes good. With night vision, the ability to change their scale color like a chameleon, and the kick power to give them short bursts of extreme speed, they are the apex predator of the Eldin Ocean. They always hunt in packs and are known for their matriarchal way of life with each group commanded by an Alpha Female, although all bow and obey the Omega Female, or as she's commonly referred to – "The Matriarch of the Sea". It's only been ten years since the Gazora's began to share their culture with "land tribes" as they call them and began allowing them to freely swim in their waters provided they don't pollute them.

As time went by, Auron was sure to keep Luka's birthplace a secret from her. He could see the dark clouds over Hyrule in the far distance. There was no way they could go back, and he knew that if Luka knew of her heritage she would foolishly try to take it back. He'd lost hope of returning, because if Link couldn't beat Ganina… who could?

End Chapter 01 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02: Gagoron Mountain Part 1

Several years passed as Luka lived at Gazora Bay with Auron as her guardian. She enjoyed a great deal of things most common people cherish. From festivals to the simple joys of swimming or fishing, Luka loved it all. Unlike most girls, Luka didn't care if she got absolutely filthy playing with the other kids or helping Auron out at the beach. She'd come home covered in mud and scratches and wouldn't even notice them. Most of the time Auron had to scold her to take a bath and treat her scratches.

Luka could always been seen in her favorite outfit – black water shoes, a tight black short sleeved dive suit, and a sleeveless faded pink tunic with a red waistband to tighten it with. She usually wore her long golden hair in a braided ponytail and carried around a lute to play songs with. She loved to dance while she played as well. Some even say she has the grace of a fairy when dancing.

Her looks were blossoming as well. She was only thirteen, but you could swear she was at least sixteen. Over time she really came to enjoy being on the beach, and wound up getting a job as an assistant lifeguard to help Auron with bringing home money to support themselves on. This peace… wouldn't last forever.

It was a cool breezy day at the Gazora Beach. The slowness of the day had Luka lying on the sand with her hands behind her head and one leg resting on her knee kicking her foot as she napped. The usual situation was going on in the water – people were enjoying the water and sun, some were wary whenever a group of Gazoras would hunt fish near the beach, and some were even swimming with Gazoras that split off from their groups.

On a far off island Ganina watched something colossal swim beneath the waves. Pulling out the lyre, she began to play a sour song. The waves started crashing on the shore and rocks, the clear blue sky was suddenly hidden by dark black storm clouds, and whatever was swimming began to thrash about. Then in the dark of the ocean, red lights illuminating the long slender body of a sea dragon flickered on as it began swimming away letting out a loud whale-like moan.

The storm began to move with the dragon through the ocean toward Gazora Bay. Auron rushed to wake Luka up and call the swimmers in from the water. Within a matter of minutes it began to storm and water raged against the shore. In the distance Auron and Luka could see schools of Gazora being assaulted by the dragon. Whenever it'd rise to attack they'd see its navy blue scales with glowing red cells on its body illuminating itself in the dark ocean. The dragon's scales were far too strong for even the razor sharp fins on the Gazora's arms! With no means by which to wound it and even with their bursts of speed were too slow to escape it for long, the Gazoras were helpless to defend themselves from the dragon!

Luka grabbed Auron's shack keys and got the Angler Rod from inside. She then rushed to a boat quickly setting out.

"Luka! Come back, it's too dangerous out there!" Auron called to her, but she ignored him continuing to head for open water.

Once the ocean floor was no longer visible, she placed chum on the hook and cast her line toward the dragon's lights. In a flash her line yanked pulling her boat for a ride on the waves. The dragon leapt from the water showing that it was much bigger than it looked back on the shore. Its body slammed into the boat causing her to fly out still holding onto the rod as the dragon dragged her in the water. She reeled as hard as she could, but the waves kept pushing her back drawing out the line.

Luka noticed Gazoras swimming after the dragon. Some were even leaping over the dragon. They were trying to cut the line! One managed to slice it clean causing Luka to become idle in the water. She couldn't see the dragon anymore… until she looked down. Everything went black, and she felt herself falling and crashing into fleshy walls before she landed hard rendering her unconscious.

Luka eventually came to and found herself literally in the belly of the beast. The only light that helped her was from the light cells of the dragon shining inside as well as outside of itself. She pushed herself to her feet and saw that the inside of it actually had pathways carved into the flesh. There were also wooden parts that seemed almost as if they were built into it. She walked along and looked about seeing passageways connecting to intestines all over while taking care to avoid any stomach acid.

At the end of an intestine she found an actual door with a lock on it. What was this doing inside of a sea dragon? She had to turn around and look elsewhere for a key. In each intestine and chamber she looked around. She eventually found a small chest… and inside was a small silver key. She returned to the door and it fit perfectly. Upon entering she found herself in a Y shaped intestinal valve. One way had a membrane preventing access, the other lead into a ram downward.

She descended and came into a chamber full of gold rupees and jewelry. Stuck in one of the piles of rupees was a sword with a red handle and a pure white blade. It had three indentions in each side of the guard. The start of the blade had a black Tri-Force etched into it. She walked up to it and suddenly she felt an odd groping in the back of her mind.

"Ye who have entered this chamber, draw me from my prison, and thou shalt be given the responsibility of restoring balance…" a female voice spoke to her, and Luka grabbed the hilt drawing it from the pile of rupees making them fall away revealing it was stuck in a stone pedestal.

The blade had a magnificently balanced weight and a good reach to it without being too long that she'd have to use two hands. She began taking practice swings when a white and red spirit very similar to Fi materialized. Luka took immediate notice to her.

"Ye who hath drawn me… do you know the gravity of the charge you have accepted? The balance of the world has been thrown into turmoil by the use of the forbidden artifact used by the goddesses. Unless we do something the world shall perish." the spirit greeted Luka, who stopped paying attention halfway through to begin sword fighting the air again.

"Are you even listening to me?!" the spirit yelled making Luka jump and smile embarrassed rubbing the back of her head.

"We are on a timetable here! This dragon holds great significance to the task at hand, so we must deal with what the Empress of Shadows has unleashed into its system! Do you understand?!" the spirit asked and Luka nodded.

"Good! Now open that chest!" she ordered pointing to a large black and red chest with an odd pink gem inlaid in the upper half.

Luke walked over to it and lifted the top open. Bright white light blinded her making her close her eyes taking a step back. When her vision returned she found her clothes had changed! She now wore knee-high brown boots, black pants, a short-sleeved dark pink tunic made of a sturdy material, brown work gloves, a dark pink hat much like Link's, and a black sash between her breasts holding the red and gold scabbard of the blade she now wielded to her back. She sheathed the blade and looked at the spirit.

"There, now you look the part of the Divine Messenger. Once we free the dragon of her control, we can ask it what fate has befallen the Hero of Time. Make headway to the heart! It should be right by this room, actually." the spirit commanded, and then turned into light that flew into the sword.

She went back into the intestine hall and sliced away the membrane that barred passage before. Once inside she found her footing to be unstable due to the blood pumping through the translucent tubes of the heart chamber. On the ceiling of the room she saw it… a colossal spider monster that appeared to be two conjoined bodies with one upside down at all times. It dropped down to the floor and both heads hissed at her staring with sixteen blood red eyes.

"That's Arachnire, the Parasite Spider! It must be sending signals from the dragon's heart to make it obey!" the spirit exclaimed from within the sword.

The battle began and Luka drew her sword running around Arachnire as it spat webs at her. She closed in and struck its leg to find they were hard as steel! Arachnire kicked her back knocking her sword from her hand stabbing the wall of the chamber causing the dragon to moan making the chamber shake violently throwing both off balance. The chamber started leaning making Luka grab the sword trying to pull it out as she then began to hang from the new ceiling. The blade began inching out due to gravity and Luka's weight, and below she could see Arachnire having trouble standing due to the contorted new shape of the room.

She wiggled the blade and got it loose making her free fall. Midway down she readied for a downward strike and ran the blade all the way through Arachnire coming out the other end making it let out a blood curdling howl before slowly curling up as the light in its eyes faded. Luka pulled the blade out standing atop the fallen monster and swung the weapon numerous time flinging the green juices off it, and then sheathed the weapon as the spirit materialized again.

"You did it! I didn't think you would be able to at first, but you did it! Of course, you had unexpected help from the dragon itself." the spirit praised, and Luka got a huffy look crossing her arms.

"Fine, you did great. You're a real hero, gold star. Happy now? Head back to the stomach for your reward." the spirit ordered.

She made her way back there and suddenly a heavy gust of wind carried her off her feet. She was soaring up the esophagus, to the mouth, and high into the morning air above the ocean as a loud "Achoo" resounded. Luka reached the ark of her flight and started coming down. She landed legs spread on the snout of the mighty sea dragon staring right into its golden eyes. Its scales were now a baby blue color, and it had a much friendlier demeanor.

"Ooooooooohhhhhhhh… helloooooooooo… were you the one who took caaaaaare of that parasiiiiite for meeeee…?" the sea dragon bellowed softly and the spirit materialized.

"Sea Dragon of the Past, Haba, we need your assistance. It's urgent." the spirit spoke with a respectful bow.

"Mirra… how niiiice to see you agaaaaaiiiin… it's been… some 8,000 yeeeaaaars… since you were laid to rest… in my second stomach…" Haba softly spoke.

"We don't have time for nostalgia, Haba! P-Pardon my outburst, but we need to know, what has happened to the Hero of Time?" Mirra asked anxiously.

"The Heeeeeeero of Tiiiiiiime… which one?" Haba asked back softly blinking.

"The one of this era. We need to find him so we can fix this mess." Mirra asked trying to hide her agitation.

"Ooooooohhhh… he passed away… some thirteen years ago… at the hands of the daughter of Ganondorf… Ganina…" Haba replied softly.

"What?! If there's no Hero of Time… then the world is doomed…" Mirra stated sitting down on Haba's snout by Luka.

"Ooooohhhhh… there is still hope… the Queen of Hyrule, Queen Zelda, still breathes… and so does their daughter…" Haba spoke and Mirra immediately perked up.

"They had a daughter?! Perfect! It'll be a long shot, but we can still restore the balance and fix the world! Where is she?!" Mirra asked feverishly.

"Hmmmm… something is clouding my visiooooon… I cannot tell you right now… it may be my age catching uuuuuup with me…" Haba replied apologetically.

"Darn it…" Mirra cursed looking down.

"Oooohhh… ooooohhhhhh… that's right… I can't tell you where she is… because I can only see into the past… you might try to ask my sister, Tiamat the Land Dragon of the Preseeent…" Haba suggested.

"She could be anywhere…" Mirra groaned.

"She was last seen going toward the Gagoron Mountain… likely to bathe in their hot springs… to wash off her old rock scales… for new ones to grow in…" Haba told them, and then he began swimming keeping them above the water.

"Where are we going?" Mirra asked.

"I'm taking you to land… I'm sure this girl's guardian is veeeeeery worriiiieeeed about her…" Haba replied as the mainland began coming into sight.

Haba arrived at Gazora Beach and let Luka off his snout. Auron rushed to them and hugged Luka tightly.

"You idiot! I was so worried about you! Do you know how long I cried when I saw this thing eat you?!" Auron scolded her in tears making Luka give an apologetic smile.

"This young lady is the reason I am free… and she has been chosen as the Messenger of the Goddesses. Her journey will be a long one… but I know she can get through it…" Haba praised softly.

"Luka… that sword… it can't be… The Unity Sword told of in Hyrulian myth?" Auron asked staring at its hilt, and Mirra materialized again.

"If you recognize the blade, then you know of its role in the restoration of the balance. Luka, you said her name was? She will serve as the messenger of the goddesses. She is the one who drew me from within Haba the Sea Dragon, so she has been elected." Mirra stated.

"Luka… you're sure about this…?" Auron asked, and she nodded with that same innocent smile she usually has plastered on her face.

"Then you must take something with you… it belonged to your father." Auron requested, and then brought out Link's Hylian Shield from the shed showing its evident battle damage.

"That shield… I can't quite recall… but it has significant meaning…" Haba spoke squinting his eyes at the shield as Luke fitted it to her scabbard.

"A useful item. This saves us the trouble of having to purchase one." Mirra smiled.

"I want you to take Epona. She may be old, but she's still a strong mare." Auron insisted, and Luka hurried into town to the stable they'd been keeping Epona corralled at.

She put her saddle on and then mounted the mare. Epona neighed loudly rearing up when Luka urged her to go, and then galloped through town to the fields beyond. In the distance Gagoron Mountain was in plain sight. A B-Line was made for it as the sun rose high in the air. At high noon she arrived at the foot of the mountain. Luka dismounted Epona and began walking up the path until she came to a gate where two large Gagorons were standing guard.

The Gagoron is a close cousin of the Goron that lives in the mountains of the Eldin kingdom. They mine all kinds of materials and minerals from the depths of the earth and sell them to the people in exchange for volcanic rock. They can't get enough of them. They are all definitely more fit than their Hyrulian cousins and are often considered to be stronger than them. Gagorons are easygoing and quite enjoy outside visitors, but they aren't afraid to start a scuffle if you threaten their free way of life. When the Eldin kingdom first learned of the Gagorons their king learned that the hard way when he was literally thrown from the mountain by the elder.

The two Gagorons stood and approached Luka showing their intimidating height. She gulped taking a step back as they looked down at her.

"Hi there, tiny sister!" the male Gagoron greeted with a wave making Luka jump back a little.

"No, no, that's too loud, look, you scared her." the female scolded gently.

"Oops. Sorry, tiny sister. Didn't mean to scare ya. I've never met a flat folk before, so I got a little overexcited." the male apologized.

"Oi, what did I tell ya about calling 'em flat folk?!" the female scolded smacking the back of his head.

"Oof! Sorry…" the male apologized holding his head.

"Let us pass. We must see Tiamat at the hot springs. As the Dragon of the Present, she must be expecting us by now." Mirra spoke materializing.

"Oi, a spirit came from tiny sisters' sword…" the male pointed out to the female.

"I can see that, ya stone head. What I don't like is her attitude." the female growled.

"Attitude? Do you not see the crest I bear?! I am the Messenger of the Goddesses! This is my herald! Stand aside!" Mirra yelled furiously, and the male lifted Luka by the back of her tunic making her dangle in the air.

"We don't let no tyrants through 'ere… especially people who can't be nice and appreciate a little hospitality…" the female growled, and then the male threw Luka through the air landing back at Epona sliding a bit getting her a mouth full of dirt with Mirra following soon after.

"How rude! Do they not comprehend the importance of our mission?!" Mirra screamed in a fit of rage turning pure red.

Luka sat there holding her face in pain due to the scrapes from landing as Mirra floated back to her feet. She looked about the face of the mountain and spotted ivy on the left side. It gave her an idea…

"Luka, we're going to that hot spring whether they like it or not. We must see Tiamat at all costs. You're to ascend that ivy and go around the security walls undetected. We'll sneak our way in!" Mirra ordered, and then returned to the sword as Luka stood up.

Luka sighed deeply, but she walked over and started climbing nevertheless. The way up the mountain had several boulders coming down at her. Taking cover now and then, she eventually reached the Gagoron Village halfway up the mountain by nightfall. Mirra materialized and had Luka keep low.

"Okay. We'd look suspicious suddenly dropping down from the outer walls instead of coming through the gate. So stick to the roofs of the homes, but only the stone ones. We don't make any sound jumping those roofs. Avoid the metal ones, got it? The hot spring is through that doorway up there." Mirra ordered pointing, and Luka carefully made her way along the roofs.

Luka used the piping to make her way across the longer gaps. She was trying hard not to get spotted. After a lot of parkour she managed to reach the doorway and entered to have the door close behind her startling Luka as Mirra appeared.

"We made it. Let's hope Tiamat is still here." Mirra stated.

"It's rude to enter a hot spring with your clothes still on, young one." a calm female voice called from the mist of the room.

"Lady Tiamat?" Mirra asked trying to see through the mist.

"Humbleness and manners always come first, messenger… why do you think you were thrown from the gate?" the voice shot back sternly but maintaining its calm manner, and Luka stripped to short black trunks and a dark pink bra top before walking into the water.

"Luka, you can't just approach her so casually!" Mirra scolded, but Luka ignored her to dive into deeper water and begin playing around in the water.

"The herald has the right idea. A hot spring is to be enjoyed, not polluted with an air of seriousness." the voice chuckled from the mist, and Mirra rolled her eyes tossing her cloak aside entering the water with her.

All at once the mist began to dissipate around the two. They could now see the immense and equally long golden dragon curled up in the deepest part of the water so that just her head peaks out of the spring water. Both Luka and Mirra were left in awe at her appearance.

"Lady Tiamat. How long… have you been soaking exactly?" Mirra asked a little concerned.

"I have been soaking for five moons, messenger. I shall soak for another ten, as my body is heavy with the weight of my work to keep the barrier between Hyrule and the other kingdoms strong. While I rest, my elder sister Toriel works to keep it strong… and once she tired, our younger brother Haba shall keep it strong from the sea." Tiamat bellowed in relaxation.

"Lady Tiamat, I must apologize for asking this of you while you recover from fatigue, but can you tell us the location of Hyrule's princess?" Mirra asked.

"Hyrule's princess… are you blind, messenger? She is here with us right now." Tiamat laughed nodding toward Luka, who was seeing how long she could hold her breath underwater surfacing and then submerging over and over.

"My herald? This country bumpkin? A princess?!" Mirra asked baffled.

"She is indeed, taken from Hyrule as a babe to be kept safe from Ganina's magic. It was fate, however, that she would return. The cycle has been broken, and thus she must establish a new order." Tiamat told her blowing smoke from her nostrils.

"Broken? The Eternal Cycle can never be broken, it was a wish upon the Tri-Force." Mirra replied feverishly.

"The goddesses can manually undo a wish, messenger. They can also choose when to begin a world anew. How do you think Ganina got her hands on the Lyre of Chaos?" Tiamat proposed.

"T-That's a sacred artifact… mortals aren't meant to even see it let alone touch it!" Mirra exclaimed in fear.

"There are many sacred artifacts upon this world. Each cousin race holds one of two belonging to a goddess… The Gagorons have Din's Gauntlets… the Gorons have Din's War Attire… the Gazoras have Lanaryu's Spear… the Zoras have Lanaryu's War Armor… the Nokiri have Farore's Bow… and the Kokiri have Farore's Wedding Gown. Only those who are worthy may use them." Tiamat explained.

"Are the Gagorons, Gazoras, and Nokiri the only cousin races of them? What of Din's Crown? Lanaryu's Choker? Farore's Anklets?" Mirra demanded.

"I am weary from looking into the present locations of the artifacts… please, allow me to rest. If you're so concerned about them falling into the wrong hands, ask the elder about their artifact." Tiamat asked sighing.

"Very well. Luka, we're going!" Mirra ordered, and reluctantly Luka got out of the water, dried off, and put her clothes back on.

End Chapter 02


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03: Gagoron Mountain Part 2

Luka accepted the duty as Herald of the Goddesses when she drew the sword and subsequently met the spirit Mirra. Mirra is the Messenger of the Goddesses, and is tasked with restoring the balance of the world when it is thrown into discord. After meeting with the Sea Dragon Haba, they made headway to Gagoron Mountain. Due to Mirra's proud nature, they had to sneak their way to a meeting with Tiamat the Land Dragon. It was then revealed to Mirra that Luka is the princess of Hyrule, and that in order to stop Ganina it's advised to receive the artifacts left behind by the goddesses left in the possession of the races of the world.

They now sought an audience with the Gagoron Elder. By Tiamat's authority, the guards had little choice but to allow them to roam in broad daylight now despite their behavior. At the peak of the mountain was where the elder resided. The elder was a female Gagoron with long flame red hair. She stood and showed she was much taller than the other Gagorons.

"You are the visitors I was told of. I am much too busy to care about whatever qualm you have with our people." the elder bellowed.

"Busy? I am the Messenger of the Goddess. We've come to ask you let us use Din's Gauntlets for our endeavor to right the world." Mirra shot back.

"Let me guess, this pup is your herald? Ha! She couldn't pin one of our youngest!" the elder laughed patting her belly.

"Do not mock my herald! I do not get the luxury of choosing! I'm stuck with whoever draws my sword!" Mirra exploded, and the elder stopped laughing.

"Listen. In all seriousness, I'd love nothing more than to help you… but we can't even get to the artifact without incurring the wrath of a great evil my ancestor once sealed within the depths of our Magma Temple that awoke when the _Melody of Madness_ was first played in Hyrule." the elder explained.

"Then why not allow us to deal with that evil?" Mirra suggested.

"The herald would incinerate as soon as she entered the area. She would need something that would make it feel like a spring morning." the elder countered.

"So something to counteract the effects… like Din's Attire!" Mirra exclaimed.

"That would indeed work… but unfortunately, Hyrule Field has become so ruined and warped that travel across it has become literally impossible." the elder stated shaking her head.

"Then allow me to be of some assistance." a voice spoke, and Sheik dropped from above holding an odd-looking lute.

"Who are you?!" Mirra asked backing up.

"I am Sheik, a member of the tribe who serves the Hyrulian Royal Family. I come bearing a very important item for our princess." Sheik explained, and then handed Luka the lute.

"That lute… it couldn't be… the Lute of Rebirth?!" Mirra exclaimed getting close to the lute examining the markings on it.

"The very same. It is the only thing capable of fighting back the chaos caused by its sister instrument. Of course, merely having it will do no good if you don't know any songs." Sheik remarked pulling out a small lyre.

"You'll teach her?" Mirra asked.

"First, and foremost, is the _Song of Rebirth_. You will need to know this if you are to restore balance to each of the lands of the world. It can't be played just anywhere though. For it to work its magic, it must be played at the altar of the sage presiding over the land. So listen carefully, princess, and learn the tune well." Sheik ordered, and then began to play having Luka follow along on the lute before she was then tasked to play it back until she could play the entire song from memory.

Luka first played nervously, and then a few more times to get comfortable. Once she got comfortable, she began tapping her foot to the rhythm, and then she began to dance as she played. A wondrous thing happened as she began dancing. Light expanded over the area parting the clouds allowing the sun to shine brightly. A chorus of angels began to sing and play background instruments to accompany her fingers on the lute's strings. When the song finished, Luka blushed when she noticed that the entire Gagoron tribe had gathered to hear the song and see her dance.

There was silence, and then the tribe began to clap and cheer. Luka became even redder looking at her feet unable to fight the smile on her face. Even Sheik was applauding her performance. Mirra floated over to her with an approving smile.

"I didn't think you capable of such a display. Truly you are worthy of your title as princess. Only one of noble blood could possible show such grace whilst playing an instrument." Mirra praised, and Luka rubbed the back of her head grinning.

"It was indeed a very wonderful performance. Now that you know that song, you can truly be considered the Herald of Rebirth. Proceed to the stone circle bearing two gargoyles near the mountain… and I shall teach you another song." Sheik commanded, and then he used a flash grenade to vanish.

Luka did as instructed and descended Gagoron Mountain. She rode Epona for a mile east of the mountain to arrive at her destination. Sheik was already waiting for her there. She dismounted and hurried to the center.

"You've come. I'm going to teach you about the hidden pathways across the world." Sheik greeted her.

"The Twilight Passage?! That's forbidden by the goddess!" Mirra exclaimed.

"It's the only way that she's getting to Death Mountain. As it stands, she cannot freely ride across Hyrule Field. It's the only passageway that remains open as it is." Sheik reprimanded her.

"Still… if Queen Midna were to find out we were using her passageways against the goddesses wills…" Mirra whimpered.

"You are the Messenger and the Herald. You have every right to use the passageways. Now then, princess, allow me to teach you the _Concerto of the Twilight_." Sheik spoke, and then took out his lyre.

The two began to play the song together. On Luka's third time playing she began to dance once more. Her dance made light and shadow create a field of view allowing tornadoes of light and hurricanes of dark to swirl around the pedestal opening a portal. Once the song ended the portal had fully formed.

"You're becoming a fast learner, princess. Quickly, through the portal and to your destination." Sheik praised, and through the portal Luka went.

She came out into the dark and desolate land of the Twilight Realm. Overhead massive hawk-like creatures were flying. In the distance she could see another portal. Hearing the birds cawing, she ran as fast as she could across the bleak landscape. When she got to the portal she leapt through spearing Link of the Gorons in the gut taking him down.

"Ooh… my belly… where'd you come from?" Link of the Gorons asked recovering from the unintended attack as Mirra materialized.

"Death Mountain… we made it!" Mirra exclaimed as Luka sat up.

"A spirit?" he asked.

"Yes. We've come on an urgent mission. We require Din's Attire. Where is it?" Mirra asked.

"Din's Attire…? Oh! OHHHHHH! I know what that is! My dad said that I had to keep that safe until the Herald of Rebirth came for it! Now… where did I put it?" Link of the Gorons exclaimed thinking.

"You misplaced it…?" Mirra asked exhaustedly.

"Oh! I remember! Gimme a minute!" Link of the Gorons exclaimed and then ran to a closet.

Things began flying from the closet making Luka dive to the side to avoid them. Eventually Link of the Gorons slid a large chest to them. He had a big grin on his face.

"Heheheh, this chest only opens if you know the password. It's the best thing I could think of for keeping it safe. Now then… Dodongo Bomb-o Yum-o!" he exclaimed, and the chest opened.

Light enveloped Luka as when she opened the chest inside of Haba. Her clothing turned pure white as a black belt appeared around her waist bearing two gems in it. Her pants, gloves, and tunic vanished being replaced by a crimson long-sleeved leotard bearing golden embroidering. Her boots replaced themselves with thigh high black boots with flame designs on them and golden embroidering. Her hat transformed into a red and gold choker. Gold bracelets with small indentions appeared on her wrists as well, and to finish it off a black cowl formed around her shoulders. This was Din's Attire… the clothes said to have been donned by the goddess when the world was first created.

"It looks amazing on you, sister!" Link of the Gorons exclaimed.

"What's this belt do?" Mirra asked, and Luka touched the pink gem making her clothes turn white and transform back to her Herald clothing.

"Ooh… it lets you swap back and forth between outfits." he observed, and Luka played with the belt for a solid minute swapping outfits continuously.

"It's not a toy! We have things to do!" Mirra barked and Luka left Din's Attire on as they went back through the portal.

Once back through they ascended Gagoron Mountain once more. The elder was pleased to see that Luka had retrieved the attire. She had an odd look on her face though.

"Little princess… you might really turn heads when you get older wearing that. Of course, looks to me like you can't use your sword while in those clothes. You'll have to learn Din's form of combat." the elder chuckled and the way back closed itself off startling Luka as Mirra materialized.

"Fear not, Luka. She merely looks to educate you in the arte of Combat Wrestling. It is similar to Sumo, as people traditionally do, but your goal isn't taking the enemy out of the ring… it's to weaken them enough that they submit or you can pin them." Mirra explained and Luka shook her head in refusal.

"Don't be shy, little princess… I'll take it easy on you." the elder laughed and pulled Luka close.

For what seemed like hours the elder tossed Luka around and beat on her. Luka tried her best, but lacked the physical strength to overpower a Gagoron. Night fell and Luka was completely exhausted lying on her back. Mirra materializes and wiped her sweat with a cloth as the elder laughed hysterically.

"You have good spirit, little princess! You knew you had no chance but fought back anyway! You should be good to fight the monsters in the cave now. Of course, finding Din's Gauntlets should take precedence over finding the evil within the temple. Once you do, you should have a significantly easier time defeating it." the elder praised crossing her arms nodding her head.

"Go ahead and rest up, Luka. After that training you earned the rest." Mirra told Luka and she simply nodded remaining on her back.

The night seemed to go by slow as Luka slept there on the floor. She refused to move from where the elder left her after a body splash. Mirra stared up at the stars sitting by Luka. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she just sat and stared at the sky. It made her remember the fonder days with her first herald. They could laze about and walk where they pleased because the world was at peace. Looking at Luka, she could see a resemblance to him too. Both were very carefree individuals that she couldn't stay mad at for very long due to their contagious smiles and endless optimism.

Morning came and Luka was finally able to move again. The elder opened the door leading to the temple path, and off Luka went. Din's Attire began glowing a bit showing that it was indeed negating the heat effects of the volcanic crater. Once inside the temple, it shook with a loud roar from deep inside. Taking a breath, Luka continued on finding puzzles inside consisting of unclogging geysers and moving blocks with markings to matching slots to form a pathway.

Upon entering a larger chamber a large red bipedal Lizalfos dropped from the ceiling forcing her to fight it. She put the elder's training to use dodging sword swings and juking its charges. She managed to get behind it, grab its waist, and suplex it busting its neck. The door opened and she hurried on her way.

After finding a fancy-looking key she saw an altar atop a platform with two golden gauntlets with red gemstones in the backs of the hands lying on top. She hurried up the stairs and claimed them putting them on. The gauntlets made a loud click afterward and she found that she couldn't take them off now. Luka panicked until Mirra materialized with a smile.

"Calm down, Luka, they're part of the outfit. They locked into the bracelets you were wearing. In other words they're now attached to the attire." Mirra explained and Luka took a deep breath to calm down.

She continued on now able to move blocks with ease and was seemingly stronger as she no longer had to strain when suplexing Lizalfos or Armorfos. When she reached a long stone bridge over the crater an odd-looking Armorfos wielding a mace began approaching her. She fearlessly charged and it slammed its mace on the floor making the bridge collapse. She fell a long way and slammed her fist into the ground to kill the momentum of her fall. She looked around the area and a loud roar startled her.

She turned around and saw at the far end of the crater was a massive black and red bipedal dragon with a fan-like tail. It slowly stomped toward her as Mirra materialized.

"That's a Volcano Dragon! It's not fully grown, so you might be able to beat it…" Mirra explained.

Luka charged the dragon as it roared at her and slid behind it grabbing its waist. She began to pull and pull on the dragon as it fought back against her. As it dragged her she tried harder and harder to pull back on it. After a solid two minutes of struggling the dragon began losing its footing. It lifted off the ground, back, and into a suplex courtesy of Luka. The dragon roared angrily and continued trying to attack Luka, only for her to slip behind it and suplex it yet again. The dragon continued to get faster and more ferocious the more she suplexed it.

Again and again she suplexed it, until at last when it stood again the dragon roared shaking the chamber falling on its face. Luka fell to her knees with fatigue breathing heavily as the Gagoron elder entered the chamber. She had an approving look on her face.

"You managed to tame the mighty Magmarna… her pup, anyway! Ha! I dealt with Magmarna myself and planned on handling the pup later, but you saved me the trouble!" the elder laughed as Mirra materialized.

"I-It's getting back up…" Mirra stammered as the dragon stood.

It stomped toward them slowly. It bent down getting in Luka's face, and then licked her cheek. It then continued to lick her face making try to push it back and make it stop.

It eventually grabbed Luka to continue licking her.

"Looks like the pup's taken a liking to you. Can't very well take it with you, so we'll watch it here." the elder laughed hysterically.

"Good… I doubt our wallet would be able to satiate the appetite it brings with it." Mirra nodded.

"The Sheik fellow said he wanted to see you outside before you go anywhere." the elder told them, and they headed out of the temple where Sheik was indeed waiting.

"You've made a powerful ally in that dragon, princess. Once fully grown, its scales will be hard enough to withstand even the mightiest magic." Sheik praised.

"I was honestly terrified watching Luka grapple the beast." Mirra admitted.

"Well, scary as it was, that won't be the last time she must don that attire. Ganina has made plans to destroy the Gorons entirely. The only way to stop her is to restore the light to that portion of Hyrule and reawaken the sage within the temple." Sheik revealed.

"So we must save the Gorons." Mirra nodded.

"God speed. I don't know how long she plans to wait." Sheik spoke, and then threw down a flash bomb to vanish.

"You heard him, Luka. Time to use another gate." Mirra ordered before reentering her sword.

Luka swapped back to her normal tunic and headed back to Epona. Upon arriving at the Twilight Altar, there was someone waiting for them. It was a slender young woman with long blue hair wearing black boots, navy blue stockings, a light blue skirt with a matching cowl, and a dark blue shirt with a white blouse beneath it. She looked devoid of emotion for some reason.

"So you are the princess." she spoke as Mirra materialized.

"Who are you to address her that way?" Mirra demanded to know.

"You're the spitting image of your father… of course, you lack his sword." she sighed.

"What's it to you?" Mirra growled.

"You don't have a hope in the world of stopping Ganina. So this is your only warning… give up now… or bad things could happen." the woman warned, and then she walked behind a pillar vanishing into thin air.

"Don't listen to her, Luka. We can do this. We're the only ones who can." Mirra reassured Luka, and she dismounted to open the portal to the Twilight World.

Once through the portal things didn't seem right. The birds they saw before were no longer around. Luka hurried across the passage way, but when she reached a large platform gates trapped her there startling her.

"This world must be redone… can you not see?" a booming voice called, and then a golden female figure with literal flames making long hair descended from a light in the sky.

"Lady Din?!" Mirra exclaimed materializing.

"This world is beyond saving. Time and time again we have seen this cycle repeat… so we have undone it… but it would seem the evil has rooted itself in the very soil of this world. So we have condemned it, and shall build a new world." Din explained.

"You can't! There is still a chance to save this world!" Mirra exclaimed.

"Nonsense. You believe the child of a hero has the same caliber? You believe someone whose line has repeated for generations has what it takes to purge the evil from this world?" Din asked seemingly infuriated at her statement.

"Lady Din, you can't truly expect imperfect beings to be perfect can you?!" Mirra exclaimed in outrage at her words.

"We created them… so it follows that they will follow suit and become perfect. It was leaving the Tri-Force here that was our mistake." Din growled.

"Then even YOU, perfect beings and goddesses, are still fallible and are thus imperfect! If you were truly perfect, you would never make mistakes!" Mirra scolded, and Din roared leaping at them throwing a punch making Luka roll to the side as her Din's fist makes a crater in the ground where she was standing.

"Lower beings are expected to obey and accept death with open arms when their goddesses ask of it…" Din growled as Luka drew her sword and shield.

"I can't believe this… we're actually going to fight Lady Din…" Mirra spoke nervously.

Luka dodged around as Din rampaged with punches and kicks trying to hit her. One of her punches made a statue hit her head dazing her. Luka took the opportunity to swing at her and her sword bounced off of her golden body leaving only a small cut. Din's fury grew immensely and her eyes began to glow bright red projecting headlights that glared at Luke.

"Now we've done it…" Mirra spoke in fear as Luka continued to dodge the even angrier Din now.

Every punch and kick now caught fire as they flew at Luka. She was getting faster now too. Out of nowhere Din slammed her fiery fist into the floor sending out a blazing shockwave that knocked Luka flying dropping Mirra in the process. Din yanked Luka to her feet and began slamming punches into her. It culminated in a head butt sending Luka skidding across the floor to a statue making it break with the top falling off into the abyss below. She was bleeding from the nose and lip trying to gather her bearings.

Din grabbed her by the throat lifting her up. Luka couldn't even muster the strength to struggle. Din readied a punch when something yanked her arm sending her rolling to the other side of the floor dropping Luka into the arms of another golden figure with long braided hair made of water and compassionate sapphire eyes. Din stood and couldn't be any angrier.

"Nayru… what are you doing?!" Din roared in her fury.

"I'm protecting our herald from you." Nayru responded stroking Luka's cheek as she lost consciousness.

"Herald… we agreed to destroy this world!" Din roared.

"Farore and I discussed it without your hot-headed input and strong-arm tactics to get your way. We are willing to give Princess Luka a chance to save this world." Nayru explained without turning around.

"You… you disregarded our decision behind my back?!" Din roared as her hair began emitting smoke.

"We made a decision without you trying to force yours through while completely disregarding what we have to say." Nayru shot back, and then extended her hand calling Mirra's sword to her allowing her to materialize.

"Lady Nayru…" Mirra gasped.

"Mirra. You have done an excellent job as our messenger. Can I trust you to purify this world?" Nayru asked with a smile.

"Yes, my lady! Luka and I will work endlessly to accomplish this task!" Mirra exclaimed while saluting.

"Nayru!" Din roared charging and Nayru effortlessly roundhouse kicked her through a pillar and off the edge forcing her to fly back up to be greeted by a wall of water making her hair shorten to shoulder length blue flames.

"Cool it, Din. You know better than to start a fight in someone else's realm." Nayru scolded her, and then formed a bubble of water on her hand gently brushing it on Luka's lip and nose injuries miraculously healing them. She then made a golden goblet adorned with sapphire gems appear, and had Luka sip sparkling water from it that seemed to take the pained expression on her face away.

"Lady Nayru… you're far too kind." Mirra spoke bowing.

"Nonsense. You are on a journey. I can't have Princess Luka out of commission due to Din's interference." Nayru spoke smiling, and Din flew off still steaming.

"Poor Luka… she was in life-threatening danger… and I almost got her killed… my fear dulled my blade when she needed my peerless edge at a critical moment…" Mirra sighed looking down.

"Mirra. Don't blame yourself. You have served us for eons. How could you have been expected to turn your edge against the ones who made you? I'd have been surprised if you had willingly sliced Din." Naryu smiled compassionately as she stroked Mirra's bangs to the side.

"I don't deserve your kindness…" Mirra sniffled as Luka began coming to.

"If you truly believe you must be punished, then you are to never allow fear to hinder your blade's sharpness no matter who it is you face." Naryu commanded.

"Yes. I promise." Mirra smiled as Naryu set Luka on her feet handing her sword back to her.

"The world is in your hands, young princess." Naryu told her before flying to the heavens.

Luka hurried across the bridges to the portal. Once out, she came out into Goron Village once more to find it under attack! Suits of black armor seemingly possessed by ghosts wielding large two-handed swords were fighting the Gorons. Luka hurried to help them not seeming to damage them, but was still able to knock them back.

"Luka, these are Shadonuts! They aren't like Darknuts and can't be slain by normal means… a means we don't have, sadly." Mirra explained to Luka, who became nervous as she continued fighting the one she'd confronted.

Luka began panicking as her attacks seemed to become less effective as she continued to fight it. The Shadonut began backing her into a corner as Luka continued to panic. Mirra's words were falling on deaf ears as its shadow loomed over her.

"Listen up moron, and listen good. They aren't as invincible as they appear. All you need to do it strike their vital points. They have them, you just have to focus and use your third eye to see them. Got it?" a voice in Luka's head scolded, and Luka rolled underneath the Shadonut as he swung making its sword get stuck in the wall.

She scanned it quickly, took a deep breath closing her eyes, and reopened her eyes seeing a large red line on its back as it continued trying to free its sword. She leapt and brought her sword down slashing right through its armor striking a pitch black rupee causing it to crack all over and shatter causing the shadow possessing the armor to vanish letting the rest of the armor fall to the ground. Luka then looked to the hole in the ceiling to see the girl who told them to give up there looking down as emotionless as before. She then left making Luka get an annoyed look.

"Who is that girl? Moreover, how did you defeat that Shadonut? They're supposed to only be killable by using the Master Sword." Mirra asked confused, but Luka remained silent hurrying to take out the other Shadonuts.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEY! YOU!" Link of the Gorons shouted as he ran up to them.

"Link of the Gorons. Your people are safe now." Mirra affirmed.

"No! It was a distraction! That witch Ganina is after my dad! She's at the Fire Temple right now! You have to hurry, he can't hold her off much longer!" he told them in a panic.

"Luka, get ready to wear Din's Attire again, we're going into the volcanic crater of this volcano!" Mirra ordered, and Luka nodded rushing to get outside and scale the rest of Death Mountain.

Once she reached the crater she equipped Din's Attire once again swapping her sword for Din's Gauntlets. She rushed down the path to the Fire Temple to find the door closed shut. Luka dug her hands into the dirt and began straining as she tried to lift the door. The gauntlets increased her strength allowing her to begin lifting it further and further up. After getting it chest height she rolled underneath letting it slam shut behind her. She hurried through the doors heading for the sage chamber, following the sounds of the struggle more or less. Upon entering the chamber, there she was, Ganina… fighting Darunia with a demonic sword bearing an eye in the guard. Darunia was on his knees appearing to be on his last legs as Ganina began raising her sword to strike.

"You've got the element of surprise! Go!" Mirra told Luka, and she rushed her leaping to land a heavy haymaker into her jaw knocking her flying dropping her sword.

"W-Who are you…?" Darunia asked as Ganina stood wiping blood from her lip scowling.

"You have the gall to punch me? Me, the Queen of Destroya?!" Ganina roared angrily, and Luka took her grappling pose as Ganina summoned her sword to her.

"Careful, Luka… she's in a league of her own." Mirra warned, and the two rushed to combat.

Luka was fast and quick, agitating Ganina as her swings missed and Luka continued to land grapples on her. Ganina sent a floor tile at her and was shocked when Luka punched right through it rather than dodge. Luka continued to assault Ganina proving too fast for her sword and dark energy attacks. Eventually Ganina kicked Luka back growling as she wiped blood from her forehead due to the many Bulldogs and DDT's she'd received.

"Fine… two people can play this game…" Ganina growled throwing her sword across the room, and then black flames enveloped her transforming her outfit to be skin-tight with her gloves boots replaced with gauntlets and greaves and her cape was notably gone.

"That's not good…" Mirra observed as Luka stood up.

"Come on, little grappler girl." Ganina taunted, and Luka rushed in again.

Ganina was faster than Luka could follow now, and she was taking a pummeling because of it. Ganina pulled out attacks Luka hadn't even thought of on her. Before long Luka's sight was blurring as she continued trying to fight back. Luka managed to grab onto Ganina and got her into a bear hug. Ganina struggled as Luka continued to squeeze as hard as she could. Ganina began coughing for air, and eventually broke free kicking Luka down as she gasped for air.

"You cheeky little brat…" Ganina growled, and then she saw it on Luka's collar bone… her birthmark… a dormant Tri-Force symbol.

Ganina pinned Luka down by sitting on her while holding her head to the floor. Luka groaned struggling, but Ganina had no trouble keeping her that way as she touched the birthmark. It glowed a bit with each touch, and Ganina became pleased all of a sudden.

"So you're the daughter of Zelda… branded as a princess by your very birth… yet you never received the power of a Tri-Force to lead you on your way through life. You live a life free of predeterminations, free of absolutes… no wonder you can wear such an outfit with zero embarrassment." Ganina laughed standing, and the second Luka tried to move she stomped her rib cage.

"Leave her be… you came for me…" Darunia called having regained the strength to stand.

"Keep your rocks on… I'm not quite done with the brat." Ganina cackled, and then lifted Luka by her throat.

"You put up that much of a fight when you're only this old… I wonder what would happen if you were a grown woman… a pity we won't find out." Ganina grinned.

"Leave her alone!" Mirra roared forcing herself to materialize in a more human form wielding her sword slashing Ganina's back making her howl dropping Luka.

"You… are DEAD!" Ganina roared backhanding Mirra knocking her down before summoning her sword.

She swung at Mirra, but the girl who helped earlier stopped her wielding the Goddess Sword. Ganina became furious the instant she saw her.

"Get the sage out of here, now." she ordered, and Mirra helped Luka up rushing to get Darunia out of there.

They took Darunia and the Gorons through the Twilight Gate to Gagoron Mountain. There Luka also had her injuries tended to. Ganina had really given her a beating, but Mirra was just happy she was alive. She'd had to temporarily break from their pact, but it was worth it to save Luka. The elder told Mirra she was going to recover especially well, because Gagorons commonly trade with the Gazoras so they have a healthy supply of their super medicines as they were called. In fact, Luka was feeling much better a mere two hours after being given some of the consumable medicine and having a small nap soon after had her almost at 100% again. The Gorons were especially happy to have been saved from a terrible fate.

"Luka. Ganina now knows that you're the princess. She's probably going to pull out all the stops to kill you now." Mirra told her.

"By the way, Luka, the dragon has been pretty rambunctious since you left. Why not pay her a visit real quick?" the elder suggested, and Luka went to the temple donning her Din outfit again.

When she found the room where the dragon was curled up, she charged happy to see Luka. Luka was actually sort of happy it was friendly now. It licked her face like a dog, if its tongue were 200% bigger. Luka played around with her, for once taking a little time to enjoy herself. Luka missed the days when she could just laze around or just had to watch the water. She had a bigger purpose now, and realized that she couldn't turn tail and quit because she got hurt one time. She'd have to train to get better, to become stronger, so that Ganina would have a force to reckon with next they fight.

Her playtime was interrupted when Sheik dropped down from the ceiling. He rushed to her in an almost panicked manner. He grabbed her and looked all over her body.

"I'd heard you fought Ganina… I was so worried. What you did was reckless… but you saved the Gorons and the Fire Sage of Hyrule… you could have died." Sheik spoke in a panic.

Sheik spent the next while lecturing Luka on how to be more careful. Luka then asked if he point her in the right direction for tutors. Shocked by her break of silence, he asked if she had any subjects in particular she wanted to learn. Naturally she asked about the two methods she needs to improve right now, grappling and swordsmanship.

End Chapter 3 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The City of Ragniel & The Gerudo Desert

Sheik pointed Luka in the direction of Ragniel, the capital city of the Eldin Kingdom. There's a swordsman by the name of Rah who lives there and is highly sought after for swords instruction, but they say that he only tutors those who understand the true form of the sword. Regardless, it was better than trying to find a tutor in Hyrule or anywhere else for that matter. Luka saddled up and began to ride.

"You're getting serious about your duty now, huh? You have my support." Mirra told Luka.

When they arrived it was the dead of night. Luka slowed Epona to a light trot as they moved into the square. A single shop was open, the Dragon Fang Inn. They had a corral to keep Epona in, and luckily the stay fee was a small five rupees. In the early hours of the morning a loud instrument startled Luka from her sleep. She looked out the window and found that a sort of festival was going on. Clowns, gypsies, and all other manner of performers were part of the parade, along with a quadrupedal land dragon that was carrying a noble chassis housing a prince of some sort along with a queen from another kingdom. The tapestry on the torso of the dragon bore the emblem of the Faron Kingdom. Luka had never seen a dragon of this variety before. To date, Tiamat was the largest dragon she'd ever seen until now.

She hurried down and looked around as Mirra materialized. Her expression was one of fear for some reason.

"Luka… the Faron Kingdom is not friendly toward anyone… the fact they're coming here and throwing a festival while they're at it is bad news." Mirra told her, and Luka carefully followed the parade toward the castle.

The doors had slammed closed as they approached, and the land dragon showed its strength by smashing down the doors by ramming its head into it three times. A long time passed as the Faronian performers entertained the people. Soon, news of a ball to celebrate peace talks were being held. Mirra had her doubts of their intentions though.

"Luka. I've decided. We're going to infiltrate that ball." Mirra announced, and Luka shook her head in disagreement.

"Stop it, you're worrying too much. You're nobility, so even if you get caught you just have to show your birthmark." Mirra explained, which confused Luka until she was shown a mirror.

"That mark only appears once you've reached fourteen years of age. Queen Zelda bore the same mark, I'm sure. Hold on… fourteen… you were thirteen when we met… we totally missed your birthday!" Mirra exclaimed, and Luka rubbed the back of her head wryly.

"Well… on the bright side, you can prove your identity now. Princess Luka… will make a surprise appearance." Mirra chuckled, and Luka definitely expressed her discontent with that.

"Luka, you can't just deny your heritage, plus it's your ticket to finding out what the Faron Kingdom is up to." Mirra scolded, and then grabbed her arm dragging her into town to a seamstress shop.

"How may I help you?" the clerk asked with a smile.

"This is Princess Luka of Hyrule. We need an outfit more fitting for royalty." Mirra told her, and she began laughing… until Mirra poked Luka's birthmark making it glow brilliantly.

"T-The mark of a p-p-princess… h-hailing from Hyrule…" the clerk stuttered.

"So, can you make us a combat ready yet still functional high society outfit for an adventurous princess?" Mirra asked raising her eyebrow with a grin on her face.

"W-We lack the skill to make one befitting a princess. You are in luck though, because there is a seamstress who is far more qualified than anyone you'll find in either Hyrule, Faron, or Eldin. On the edge of the Poor Quarter there's a pub called the Angel Feather. Ask for Madam N at the counter, and if they play dumb… the Goddesses are Singing." the clerk told them.

"Thank you for your time." Mirra spoke with a bow, and once more made Luka bow.

So the duo rushed over to the Angel Feather. Once at the counter the bartender, who was pretty much pure muscle, chuckled at the sight of them.

"Sorry kid, we don't serve juice here." the bartender laughed making the other patrons laugh.

"We need to see Madam N." Mirra told him.

"Who?" the bartender asked.

"The Goddesses are Singing." Mirra replied, and he looked genuinely surprised.

"You two better come with me." the bartender spoke, and dragged them out the front door… and then around to the back where a knight was standing before a door.

"Troublemakers?" the knight asked.

"These two need to see Madam N." the bartender told him, and he stepped aside letting them in.

The room they entered looked a lot like a bedroom mixed with a sewing studio. He then dropped them on soft beanbag chairs. They looked behind them and a woman whose appearance is hidden by a black cowl wearing metal claws on her fingers to increase her sewing speed.

"Madam N. Visitors." the bartender spoke before leaving.

"Princess Luka… I've been expecting you." Madam N spoke in a raspy voice.

"You knew we would come?" Mirra asked.

"Yes, yes, for some time…" she replied before coughing heavily hitting her chest now and then spooking them.

"Ugh… stupid congestion… I hate being sick…" Madam N spoke in a more normal voice.

"You're sick?" Mirra asked confused.

"Yes, I'm a little sick… tripped and fell in a puddle while I was signing for my sewing materials… I'll be better in a day or two." Madam N replied sniffling a bit before blowing her nose.

"Do you know why we're here?" Mirra asked.

"You desire an outfit befitting of her royal status, but at the same time it's built for the punishment of travel. I've been working on such a garment for you since you were born. It will grow as you grow, because I enchanted it that way. It is one of my special seamstress spells." Madam N replied placing a chest before them.

"Well, open it Luka." Mirra urged, and Luka sighed before doing so.

Bright light enveloped her porting her to an extradimensional space. Her clothing turned to light and began to shift shape. Her boots turned pitch black becoming foreleg-length, her pants became pure white extending to tuck into her boots, her tunic became velvet and long enough to cover half of her thighs, the bands on her tunic turned black, a crown attachment now adorned her velvet cap, and the Tri-Force became emblazoned on the left side of her chest and on her upper back. The last thing to change was her gloves becoming black and fingerless with the sleeves of her chainmail becoming pure white. It was designed to be fashionable and yet functional. Luka looked herself over, and couldn't help blushing at her new look.

"You really look the part of a princess now, Luka." Mirra chuckled.

"With that attire, you should have no trouble getting inside the castle. The Faron Kingdom has no intention of making peace. Only you can stop their queen from completing her master plan." Madam N told her, and Luka nodded.

When they got back to the inn, Mirra dragged Luka into the room they'd been using. Luka was confused, but Mirra looked excited.

"You're going to a noble event. You can't just waltz in looking like that. We have to tidy up your hair, and then apply some slight makeup to make you truly presentable to those other nobles." Mirra giggled, and Luka tried to escape only to be dragged back into the room.

Luka hated being dolled up like that, but nevertheless she rode Epona to the castle gates, which took a few tries because Mirra kept scolding Luka to pose dignified. After getting it right, the guards saw the Tri-Force on her shoulder and immediately opened the gate. Handlers took Epona to the corral as maids escorted Luka to the ballroom. Mirra materialized with a significantly fancier look, to be Luka's speaker of sorts.

"Presenting, Princess Luka of Hyrule!" a butler announced, and everyone looked with awe at Luka making her blush a bit.

"Remain calm. You know the actual reason we're here." Mirra assured Luka and she nodded nervously.

Luka carefully made her way around the ball greeting the nobles how Mirra instructed her to. The last thing they needed was people thinking Luka had bad manners, when in reality she just has commoner manners. A boy her age with slicked back red hair approached Luka not long after she'd approached the punch table.

"This ball is so dry… can't believe my mom made me come here…" he spoke, obviously trying to break the ice.

"Well, he's obviously trying to speak to you, Luka… say something." Mirra urged entering her sword so she could feed advice without being heard.

"I've seen the kids of a lot of nobles… didn't think the kid of someone from Hyrule would be in Eldin. Your parents force you to come as well?" he asked.

"M-My parents are dead… or missing… I don't know…" Luka stuttered.

"THAT's how you're going to open it?" Mirra commented flabbergasted.

"Dead? Man… for me, sounds like a dream. My mom's always after me, 'do this', 'look at that', 'dress this way', 'pick a bride from this group'… she's such a pain that sometimes I feel like running away." he sighed.

"Who is your mom?" Luka asked.

"Queen Farah of the Faron Kingdom. She's only here to try and see if she can't poison the politics pool of Eldin. I could care less about controlling other kingdoms… but she's all 'if you're going to be king some day you need to learn how to be crafty and stay one step ahead'." he complained.

"Luka, that means he is Prince Edwin! Prince of the Faron Kingdom! He's just revealed his mother's plan to us too!" Mirra exclaimed.

"You know… I bet you'd look better without the makeup…" Edwin told Luka, and she went bright red.

"Don't tell me he's seriously hitting on you…? You've only just turned fourteen, and he's gotta at least be sixteen or seventeen." Mirra groaned.

"I-I'm only fourteen…" Luka spoke in a flustered panic.

"Really? I'm only fifteen myself. My birthday was yesterday, so mom paid a traveling circus to follow us for a grand entrance. I'd have rather just attended a show… but I guess it's the thought that counts." Edwin told her.

"Why doesn't your mom just go through with peace talks?" Luka asked.

"My thoughts exactly… guess it's a power thirst thing… plus Hyrule isn't in the best state right now." Edwin sighed.

"I'm going to free the land, somehow." Luka smiled.

"You? Well, I guess somebody's gotta do it… if nobody else, why not you? You are their princess after all." Edwin smiled back.

"I… also kind of want to stop your mom from destroying Eldin's government." Luka admitted.

"Why would you tell him that?!" Mirra scolded.

"Really? Well… then come with me." Edwin told her and led her by the hand.

They entered a long hallway making haste down it. The two made their way through more hallways until they came to a staircase going up to two large double doors. They hurried up them and opened the doors to where the queen Luka saw had a king and another queen tied up with a sword in her hands.

"Edwin, find a potential bride?" Queen of Faron asked seemingly delighted.

"Mother, what you're doing is ludicrous! Release them!" Edwin commanded.

"Release them? After all the trouble I went through to deceive them? All the adult favors I've performed just to keep nobles informants silenced? I don't think so." she scowled, and Luka charged her drawing Mirra startling the queen as she swung backing her away from the king and queen.

"W-What in blazes?!" Queen of Faron exclaimed as Luka growled at her.

"Luka, that was kind of rash… good thing she didn't think to strike while we were charging." Mirra commented.

"That mark… you're from Hyrule? A Hyrulian princess…?" she pondered backing up a bit further.

"Leave. You and your son. Do it peacefully or I'll be forced to cut you down." Luka ordered her.

"My… who are you to order such a thing? Moreover, do you have the stomach for it?" she asked, and Luka effortlessly cut her sword's blade off making her eyes widen at the clean cut.

"Point taken. Edwin, we're leaving…" she spoke in a slight panic and then the two left.

"For a girl, she's a woman…" Edwin commented with a smile looking over his shoulder at Luka as she freed the king and queen.

"My word… I feared we were finished." Queen of Eldin sighed.

"I wasn't afraid." King of Eldin affirmed stroking his goatee.

"Says the man who was ready to surrender the minute she pulled the sword on us…" she scolded.

"You can't prove that." he shot back.

"Anyway, thank you for saving us, princess…?" she asked trying to figure out her name.

"Princess Luka of Hyrule, and I am the messenger of the goddesses, Mirra." Mirra spoke materializing.

"So Hyrule's princess has deigned to reclaim her kingdom… how can we repay you for this deed?" King of Eldin asked.

"We desire to be trained by the greatest swordsman in all of Eldin, Rah." Mirra explained.

"Well… until recently that would have been more than possible… but he passed away a year ago leaving his only student to inherit his title as the greatest swordsman in Eldin." the queen told them.

"Yes. Whether he's willing to train you is another story. You'll find him in the Gerudo Desert." the king added.

"The Gerudo Desert is in Hyrulian territory isn't it?" Mirra asked.

"There's more than one entry point into that godforsaken desert. To the west you'll find Bagoron Caverns. There is a mountain trail that goes over that cave system leading to the Gerudo Desert, a connecting point from Eldin to Hyrule." the queen explained.

"What is his students' name?" Mirra asked.

"His name is Groose." the king responded.

Luka retrieved Epona from the stables and began to ride. The knights of the city all saluted respectfully as she left. Across the countryside she rode, and eventually found the path as described by the king and queen. Epona was reluctant at first, but Luka eventually calmed her enough to get her to go up the trail. Once they reached the desert, very uncharacteristic weather for a desert was occurring. There were thunderstorms as far as the eye could see. Nevertheless she rode into the desert.

In the sand she could see fins following her. Mirra materialized and smacked Epona's rear to make her speed up.

"Those are sand sharks, Luka! Find solid ground!" Mirra ordered, and Luka urged Epona to go faster.

Eventually a boulder came into sight and Luka had Epona ride onto it to evade their subterranean pursuers. On the same rock structure was a bridge suspended over the sand a good ten feet above. She carefully walked Epona across as the sand sharks moved circling under them, seemingly annoyed that she's so far out of reach. Each bridge went to another rock formation it seemed, meaning someone took the time to build each bridge. Eventually she saw a massive fin in the distance followed by many other land sharks chasing a man in black atop a brown horse riding through the desert firing arrows at the large fin.

"That must be him. Quick, he's headed for that other formation." Mirra urged, and Luka rode on.

They approached by far the largest of the formations where the man now stood tying ropes to sand sharks that he'd managed to tether with his arrows. He had long red hair and a scar over one eye. His horse was unlike any she'd seen before. He had a very large sword on his back as well.

"Excuse me, but are you Groose?" Mirra asked.

"Who's asking?" he responded.

"Mirra, messenger of the goddesses, and Princess Luka of Hyrule the herald of the goddesses." Mirra introduced herself and Luka.

"What do you want with him?" he asked.

"We've come so she can be properly trained to use a blade." Mirra replied.

"I've nothing to teach a total novice." he sighed.

"Just like that?!" Mirra asked in disbelief.

"I only teach those who have an initial understanding of how to use a blade without hurting themselves or those around them." he replied.

"That's unfair to someone looking to save a country." Mirra scolded.

"Tough luck. The kid can't just use status to get her way." Groose scoffed.

"She's tamed a dragon. She's fought countless evils. If she wants to stand a chance against the elites of Ganina's army let alone the witch herself she needs superior instruction." Mirra pleaded.

"Don't ever say that phrase in my presence again. My master said those words all the time, claiming he couldn't be defeated because of his 'superior instructing skills'. Look where he is now… dead as a doornail." Groose growled.

"What can we do to prove to you that Luka has initial sword knowledge?" Mirra asked.

"Bring me the Soul Jewel from the depths of the Gerudo Mausoleum. Do that, and I'll train her." he sighed.

"Gerudo Mausoleum… where is that?" Mirra asked.

"You can find it if you follow the bridges west. It goes underground, and is usually used as an initiation course for new Gerudo joining the bandits." Groose replied.

"Let's go, Luka." Mirra told her.

"Wait. Leave your horse here." Groose ordered.

"Why?" Mirra asked.

"The bridges you came on are new, but the ones past here are old and won't support both the weight of a person and a horse. They barely support two people. If that bridge breaks, you'll be sand shark food. Plus, the sand beyond here is like quicksand, and you won't be able to escape due to the lower density to the rest of the sand in the area." Groose warned.

Luka tied Epona to a pole and began on her way. The bridges certainly were in worse condition the further she went. Eventually, she finally arrived at the mausoleum. The entrance had fresh Gerudo corpses. The door was wide open with a tiara stabbed into the indention. Bloody handprints littered the walls along with blood trails indicating that bodies were dragged inside. Mirra materialized in front of Luka.

"I don't like the implications of this… be very careful, Luka." Mirra warned, and Luka nodded before entering.

The inside was immense and seemed to spiral forever. There were many bridges that went across the chasm as well. Khis dove at Luka from the ceiling as she made her way down. Upon entering the first door she found, there was a badly wounded Gerudo laying against the wall. She had torn off half of her pants sleeve to use as makeshift bandages to her large side wound.

"You… Neru said… you would come…" she wheezed.

"Who is Neru?" Mirra asked as she materialized.

"She is… the Sage of Shadows… she saw through a dream… that the child of the hero… would save the land from Ganina's nightmares…" she replied.

"What attacked you?" Mirra asked.

"The Hagglereave… a horrid half man half beast monster. It runs across the desert at blinding speed… and if you aren't careful, it'll grab you with its massive hook…" she replied coughing blood.

"Why did it enter here?" Mirra asked.

"Like any other monster… it desires power… so it is after the Soul Jewel. It contains the power to bestow eternal life… please, do not let it… become immortal…" she pleaded coughing more blood.

"We need that jewel, so we will slay it." Mirra assured her.

"T-Thank… you…" she spoke with a smile before losing consciousness.

Luka explored the room finding a chest with a key inside before moving on. While on the staircase an inhuman scream shook the entire mausoleum. It caused a bit of the stair railing to collapse, but even so Luka continued on. In the first locked room she found she came into an open room.

To her horror, in the center eating the arm of a gerudo, was a tall centipede-like monster. Its outer carapace was a tanned gold color, but it had elongated human limbs all over its sides. At the base of its neck were thick clawed arms acting as a crown to the head. The head had very long silver hair with six blood red eyes. It had two hands covering its exposed breasts showing the very front of it was human in appearance. The lower half of the body had a dozen legs with two muscular clawed arms at the front where it begins arching up to the torso holding onto the victim's body. Once it noticed Luka it turned to her and let out the inhuman scream again despite the sadistic grin on its face.

[{HORROR OF THE DESERT – HAGGLEREAVE}]

"Luka, it's the Hagglereave!" Mirra warned and Luka barely rolled out of the way of its charge.

When it'd reach for Luka she'd slash its limbs making it howl in pain never changing its grin. After managing to dismember a total of six arms from it the Hagglereave let out another loud scream before barreling out the door busting it and part of the wall apart. Luka followed out to see it descending the floors of the mausoleum eventually entering a door that locked behind it.

"Luka, we'll have to find the key to that door. It isn't like the other doors." Mirra told Luka.

Luka traversed the many rooms trying to find the key. Eventually she discovered a room where a statue of Link stood tall. Luka walked up to it with a look of wonder as Mirra materialized.

"This is your father's grave it seems. It makes sense, as Ganina wouldn't want his body on the grounds of her new castle." Mirra told Luka.

Luka brushed dust off the writing and read it over. She'd never known him and felt sad never having gotten the chance. It began to sink in that Hyrule was her true home. She was its princess, and she'd lived in total ignorance of it. The thought of it angered her. She looked up at the statue of her father one more time before moving on. Her resolve was strong, and with it she continued to solve the puzzles of the mausoleum.

Eventually she opened a chest containing an odd satchel inside. In the satchel was miniature bombs. She took one out, and to her shock it expanded to be the size of a bowling ball with the fuse lit. In a panic she threw it at a wall blowing it open revealing a hidden doorway. She kept it, dubbing it the Bomb Satchel. Inside the room was a red chest on an upper level. She moved quickly to solve the block puzzle, having to use Din's Attire for the required strength to push them. Once they were lined up, a six-armed Stalfos dropped from the ceiling. It wielded a scimitar in each hand.

The Stalfos had Luka dodging left and right due to its swordsmanship. She was able to take off two of its limbs making it roar with anger. She wasn't dodging quite as frequently now, but still had to be wary of the remaining four arms. Once of its swings cut it close making a slash in her tunic showing the chainmail beneath. After taking the rest of its arms off she was at last able to best it. She then climbed the stone steps she'd put into place and retrieved the Crypt Key.

She made her way to the very bottom of the mausoleum. The key fit perfectly, and the chains all fell from the door. Mirra materialized and grabbed Luka's shoulder. Mirra was trembling.

"Inside there… is a mighty evil, Luka. Are we sure that we can take it on?" Mirra asked, and Luka nodded.

She opened the door and entered the chamber. The door closed behind her locking itself once again. At the far end of the room was a gerudo fighting the Hagglereave. She was trying her hardest to keep it from the sarcophagus at the very back. Luka drew her weapon and charges slashing off one of the Hagglereave's back legs making it scream in agony allowing the gerudo to take off one of its arms as it backed up and growled seeing Luka there.

"Child of Link… I knew you would come…" the gerudo spoke, winded from the fight.

"Luka, we need to take off its limbs. If it doesn't have legs to run around on, it'll be a sitting duck." Mirra informed Luka.

Luka and the gerudo maneuvered to keep its attention divided. While one kept the top half busy, the other would strike at its feet. After five of its many legs were gone it howled making its front arms take an offensive stance. Its massive arms began knocking them around every time they charged it. It howled with laugher as their attempts continued to fail. Then Luka got an idea… how fast were its reactions? She took out a bomb and threw it at the beast. Its arm caught the bomb, and it went off taking its hand making the Hagglereave let out an insanely loud screech of pain. It allowed the gerudo to take two of its legs reducing it to four making its carapace turn red as the skin on its body turned a sickening green. It screamed angrily charging and flailing its large arms at them. Luka threw another bomb taking its other arm.

The Hagglereave screamed charging knocking the gerudo into the wall allowing Luka to leap onto its back to stab her blade into the thick red carapace. Its screams became louder as it flailed eventually knocking Luka off it. With a weakness in its carapace exposed, the gerudo distracted it so Luka could lob another bomb blasting it wide open. Luka was then able to leap onto it and stab her blade straight through its chest making an even louder scream shake the chamber. The Hagglereave's body then began to turn pure white and go through extreme rigor mortis. It then burst into white powder letting hundreds of blue lights shine up through the ceiling into the heavens beyond.

"What are those lights…?" Mirra asked.

"The souls of those who were devoured by the Hagglereave and had their limbs added to its body. You've slain a great evil, princess." the gerudo explained.

"So, who are you?" Mirra asked as she materialized.

"I am Neru, chieftess of the gerudo. I came here immediately when I heard the Hagglereave had broken inside. I stood guard to make sure it didn't take the Soul Jewel. With your help, it didn't get close to it." she introduced herself.

"Does it really give eternal life?" Mirra asked.

"No. It's true purpose is to awaken an ancient evil that rests beneath the sands of the Gerudo Desert. We once used it as a threat to those who desired to come after us. We knew Ganondorf would attempt to use it, so we sealed it away here in the mausoleum." Neru replied.

"Why would that Groose fellow want it then?" Mirra asked.

"Likely to destroy it. It is the artifact that killed his master. I'm sure you saw the sand sharks on the way here. The oldest of them and by far the most powerful was awoken by it. I managed to get it away from Ganina and put it away yet again. Only one who holds royal blood may put the foul beast to sleep once more." Neru told them.

"Luka, that must mean that he wanted you to put it to sleep again." Mirra reasoned.

"Do the world a favor once the deed is done… and kill that monstrosity. The desert will never be truly safe, even if it slumbers." Neru pleaded.

"We may not be able to because of the sand shark horde, but we'll try." Mirra told her, and Neru took a blood red gemstone from the inside of the sarcophagus hanging it to Luka.

Luka walked outside to find the storm worsening. She made her way back to Epona seeing that Groose had built a shelter over her to keep her dry. Then out in the dunes Luka saw the great fin chasing Groose again. Luka raised the Soul Jewel high sending a bright light into the sky causing the storm clouds to clear, and a ray of light to strike the fin causing it to begin swerving. It then surfaced revealing a colossal sand shark as it smashed into a one of the large rock formations cracking the formation heavily, but also rendered the monster unconscious. This allowed Groose to get back onto solid ground without much trouble.

"We retrieved the Soul Jewel as requested." Mirra told Groose.

"So you have…" Groose sighed.

"You'll train Luka now, yes?" Mirra asked.

"I have nothing to teach her." Groose sighed.

"What do you mean? We had an agreement." Mirra asked.

"She was able to defeat the horrors inside that hallowed place, whereas I failed miserably. There is nothing I know that I can teach her." Groose replied.

"She doesn't know the first thing about dueling a real person." Mirra told him.

"She defeated the Hagglereave and she doesn't know how to duel?" Groose asked.

"Monsters are different from people." Mirra nodded.

"Very well… it is very little to teach… but I will do my best." Groose sighed with a smile.

Luka began her training with Groose to better her swordsmanship. She learned more about proper sword form as well as how to stiffen her stance to better take blows on her shield. Four weeks went by as she trained. Even Mirra was startled by her learning curve. Luka slowly became more confident in her own ability, smiling the entire time they'd spar. Groose also taught her how to fake surrendering to gain the upper hand on a foe stronger than her. When he finally finished teaching her, he repaired her tunic, and additionally stitched the badge of mastery his master gave him into the left shoulder.

"This badge is proof that you were trained under my master through me. It will serve as proof to all across the world that you know how to properly wield a sword." Groose told Luka with a big smile.

"All that remains is to put an end to that huge monster while it slumbers." Mirra told him.

"Leave that to me. Keep the Soul Gem with you though. Once it goes from red to a dormant pink that will mean that it's been done." Groose told them.

"Can you do it?" Mirra asked.

"I was trained by the same master… plus I've been trying to beach it like that for years so I could fell it." Groose replied with a wink.

"Do you know where we can perhaps find wrestling teachers?" Mirra asked.

"Wrestling… that's the national sport of Faron. They have festivals for it at the start of every season. So your best bet would be one of the schools in that kingdom." Groose replied thinking about it.

"Faron… I feared that would be where we'd have to go…" Mirra sighed, and Luka untied Epona.

"Luka, you aren't afraid? Faron is the kingdom that wants total control of the world. We'll be very unwelcome there." Mirra warned, but Luka ignored her mounting Epona.

"Be careful once you cross the border. They may be a military nation, but they've more problems than just uncivilized royalty…" Groose warned, and Luka nodded before ordering Epona to go across the bridges.

End Chapter 4 


End file.
